The campaign site

Overview

The campaign site is the Finokalia station (35.338°N, 25.670°E) on the north coast of Crete, Greece. The nearest large urban centre is Heraklion with 150.000 inhabitants located 70 km west of Finokalia. The station is located at the top of a hilly elevation (252 m asl) facing the sea within a sector 270° to 90°. The nearest village with 10 inhabitants is at 3 km to the south of the station. No significant human activities occur at a distance shorter than 15km within the above mentioned sector.

Finokalia station is a core ACTRIS station, offering the possibility for Transnational Access.

Meteorology of the area

The campaign area is characterized by the existence of two well-distinguished seasons equally distributed throughout the year: the dry season (from April to September) and the wet season (from October to April). Based on a classification of 5-days backward trajectories performed for 8-year period (1997 - 2003), the dry season is mainly characterized (up to 90%) by winds of N/NW direction (Central and Eastern Europe and Balkans) and high speed. During the wet season the prevalence of the N/NW sector is less pronounced while important transport from the Sahara desert (S/SW winds; occurrence up to 20%) takes place.

For further information visit the station's website.

Recent activity

Uploaded data
ESA logo

CHARADMexp campaign is funded by the European Space Agency.

Beyond project logo

CHARADMexp is supported by the BEYOND Centre of Excellence, in the frame of the satellite cal/val activities performed by the Centre. LIVAS climatology as well as the smoke dispersion and dust services provided by BEYOND will be validated through the CHARADMexp campaign.

ACTRIS provides support to CHARADMexp participants by offering access to the Finokalia research facilities through the Transnational Access activity of the Network.